Granadilla
Passiflora quadrangularis
Family: Passifloraceae
What it is like
A long creeping vine with square stems. It has fleshy tuberous roots. The vine can be from 5-15 m long. The vine has four wings. The tendrils are pale green and coiled in a spiral. The tendrils are not branched and can be 30 cm long. The leaf stalk is 3 sided and 5-8 cm long. The leafy structures (stipules) at the base of the leaf are sword shaped and 2-5 cm long by 1-2.5 cm wide. The leaves are also large (10-25 cm long and 8-17 cm wide) and green or purple. The flowers occur singly in the axils of the leaves and can be 10-12 cm across. Flowers are white and purple and have red dots on them. The fruit is greenish yellow 12-30 cm long by 10-18 cm wide and with black seeds amongst purple flesh. The aril or layer around the seed is white and edible. The seeds are 1 cm long.
There are about 400 Passiflora species.
Where it is found
A tropical plant. It mainly occurs in the tropical lowlands but grows up to about 1000 m. It suits hot humid lowland areas in the tropics. Fruiting is often best between 200-500 m altitude. They can stand cool temperatures when mature. At 21-26°C seed germinate in 1-2 weeks but at lower temperatures seed can take 10 weeks. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In XTBG Yunnan.
Countries/locations it is found in
Africa, Amazon, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Bolivia (country/location of origin), Brazil (country/location of origin), Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central Africa, Central America, China, Colombia (country/location of origin), Comoros, Congo DR, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guiana, Guianas, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Marquesas, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niue, Northeastern India, Pacific, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Peru (country/location of origin), Philippines, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Rotuma, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South America (country/location of origin), Sri Lanka, Suriname, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad-Tobago, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, West Papua, Zimbabwe
How it is used for food
Sometimes unripe fruit is boiled as a vegetable. It can be used in soups. It can be cut in pieces and cooked in butter with pepper and nutmeg. Otherwise the fruit is eaten ripe. It can be used for juice, fruit salad, pies, jellies, cold drinks sauces and wines. Sometimes the swollen root is cooked and eaten like a yam. CAUTION The leaves are poisonous.
Reasonably common in lowland areas in Papua New Guinea. It is a cultivated food plant.
Edible parts
Fruit, seeds, vegetable, root
How it is grown
Plants are normally grown from cuttings but they can be grown from seed. Cuttings 25- 30 cm long from well matured stems should be used. A spacing of 2-3 m between plants is suitable. It needs a trellis to grow over. It often pays to hand pollinate. Seed germinate in 2-4 weeks. Seedlings can be planted in the field within 4 months.
The vine is fast growing. A vine lasts for 5-6 years. Flowers are produced 9 months from planting. Fruit are ready to harvest 60-80 days from flowering. A vine can produce 16-50 fruit in a season.
Its other names
Local names
Akar mentimun, Aka-wadi, Badea, Bandee tsururu chuwa, Barbadine, Barbajina, Belewa, Chum bao dua, Corvejo, Drap, Dua gang tay, Erbis, Gendola, Giant granadilla, Granadilla de fresco, Granadilla grande, Granadilla real, Jujo, Karora chi, Kasaflora, Manesa, Maracuya real, Markiza, Markoesa, Marquesa, Masaflula, Mentimun, Misriphal, Na wa kinto, Panthao milao, Parcha, Percha granadina, Qaranidila, Sao warot, Sapthailempa, Sukhontharot, Taeng kalaa, Tasiri, Telur dewa, Thaloi, Timun belanda, Timun hatan, Tambo, Tumbo, Tutbun
Synonyms
Passiflora macrocarpa Mast.; Passiflora quadrangularis var. variegata; Passiflora tetragona M. Roem; and others